Day 22 📍 Scavenger Hunt
Celebrating Black History Month by exploring hidden Black history in Florida's Capital City.
February 22, 2025
Good afternoon!
I skipped the last couple of days because Theo reached a new milestone: sleep regression 😅 He used to sleep 3-4 hours at a time, now we’re lucky if he’ll nap for 30 minutes. So, thanks for being patient as we adjust to this new schedule.
While writing the blurb for Day 19 (below), I thought about the state of Frenchtown and the City’s current redevelopment efforts. Some say new development, like housing for Florida State students, should be embraced. It fills vacant lots and deters unwanted activity. However, other longtime Frenchtown residents say this kind of development exclusively serves students, a transient demographic, and lends to the erasure of the once-bustling community.
As we ponder the question, what does Black progress look like, we also have to ask: how do you restore, not simply rebuild, a community?
📍Today’s Clue: Now a vacant lot owned by the City, find the former site of this nursery.
📍 Day 19: Economy Drug Store
🕵🏽 Clue: “A place to get some treats and meds, visit the pharmacy that the owner inherited from her dad."
Economy Drug Store is the sole surviving business established before desegregation in Frenchtown, one of the oldest Black communities in Florida.
Howard Roberts purchased the pharmacy in 1951, which is still a family operation almost 75 years later.
Today, Roberts' daughter, Alexis Roberts McMillan, runs the pharmacy. She said that while she was growing up, the drug store was not only a hub for families in need but also a social spot with a soda fountain, jukebox, and pinball machine.
One of the pharmacy's frequent visitors was Henry Lewis III, who hung out at the pharmacy often because his girlfriend worked there. Eventually, Roberts offered him a job, which kickstarted his path into medicine. Lewis graduated from FAMU's pharmacy school and later served as its Dean, helping the school become a top producer of Black pharmacists in the United States.
The pharmacy has served as a career launching pad through partnership with FAMU & UF, which places pharmacists in training there.
When asked about the future of the pharmacy, Alexis McMillan Roberts said, "We are looking forward - again - to being here and not going anywhere. We like it, and we hope people will come in and shop with us."
See you tomorrow (hopefully!),
Shelby